The real Jeffrey Epstein scandal at MIT

In early January 2015, horrific news stories about Jeffrey Epstein's sexual activities hit newspapers around the world.

Below are the headlines and photos that hit newspapers by January 3, 2015, describing a lawsuit filed in a Florida courtroom, accusing Epstein and Harvard lawyer Alan Dershowitz of repeated horrific sexual crimes against underage children.

Now that we know what "recent news" Israel Ruiz was talking about, let's revisit that email from Ruiz to Ito.

Date: January 13, 2015
From: Israel Ruiz
  To: Joi Ito

“[d]o you have time for a conversation about 
the gift discussion we [had] before the break? 
We have had a chance to discuss the nuances 
in light of the most recent news and would 
like to share Rafael [Reif] and others 
perspectives with you.”
?        

Let's back up for a moment to explain the background for this email.

Section D of the Epstein report, "Members Of The Senior Team Discuss Epstein Donations Again in 2014" (Page 32), begins in November 2014, with Jeffrey Epstein and Joi Ito, director of the Media Lab, discussing the possibility of Epstein bumping up his donations from $100K to an astonishing $10 million.

On December 10, Ito emails Ruiz to ask “[c]an we talk about this sometime? Could I call you this evening?” Ruiz responds regarding his availability for a phone call but also writes “[h]owever, from reading the email exchange below, this all seems good to me. Let’s talk later.”

Throughout the report, it is clear when Ruiz says, "all seems good to me," it is clear that his judgment is all the approval that anyone requires. And until he provides that approval, nothing can move forward.

Ito and Ruiz speak by phone on the night of December 16. Ludicrously, the authors not that Ruiz "rejects" a potential $10 million donation from Epstein "because it did not fit the established criteria for donations by Epstein. Ruiz agreed, however, that donations less than $10 million would be acceptable."

Once again, Ruiz' approval means that everything can more forward, and Ito then emails Epstein to let him know that gifts under $10 million “should be no problem.”

So, let's recap. At the end of December 2014, MIT has approved a new 7 figure donation from Epstein, likely in the $5 million range.

So now let's reread that email one more time, shall we?

Date: January 13, 201
From: Israel Ruiz
  To: Joi Ito

“[d]o you have time for a conversation about 
the gift discussion we [had] before the break? 
We have had a chance to discuss the nuances 
in light of the most recent news and would 
like to share Rafael [Reif] and others 
perspectives with you.”5        

A couple of things, right? Ruiz had signed off on the deal at the end of December, right? If he's emailing Ito on January 13, it's because the Epstein-Dershowitz lawsuit has filled newspapers with graphic details of Epstein's sexual activities, and now Ruiz is nervous that he's going to be caught holding the bag. So you can be damn sure that he brings it up at the Senior Leadership Retreat, when all the senior leadership is gathered together at MIT's Endicott House retreat center. "We have had a chance to discuss the nuances in light of the most recent news and would like to share Rafael and others perspective with you."

Two things to say about this.

1. From this point forward, every member of the senior leadership knew everything there was to know at that point about Jeffrey Epstein. They can say they didn't, that they don't remember, and they might not be convicted by a jury of their peers. But there is no reason whatsoever to extend the benefit of the doubt to a senior leadership team responsible for protecting the safety of an undergraduate community.
2. Given the fact that MIT continued the relationship with Epstein for four more years, then one can only conclude that anything they learned about Epstein from these news stories did not put them off from continuing to accept donations from Epstein.

(I'll create a separate page of descriptions of Epstein's sexual activities, taken from the January news stories. They're stomach turning, but not enough for any senior leader to turn away a cash offer from Epstein.)

1. Finally, given that the MIT Chief of Police and Public Safety Officer, John DiFava, reported directly to Israel Ruiz, this means that Ruiz was responsible for the safety of the MIT Community, despite which he allowed ongoing, regular unsupervised visit from a Level 3 sexual offender.

Postscript

Reading Section D more carefully, which covers the time frame from November - December 2014, it is more than likely that Epstein offered to bump up his donations significantly in preparations for the disastrous lawsuit that was about to unfold. As the report makes clear, MIT allowed Epstein to widely publicize the fact of his MIT donations. In fact, he may be dead but his press releases live on.